Love it or leave it, Yahoo's new homepage is like moving into a new apartment.
I first realized I had to disconnect my Facebook account, because when it comes to news and the issues, it's not one of my top conversations on Facebook. I read my news online like I read my newspaper: To myself at the kitchen table and no, I don't feel like talking when I'm sipping my coffee.
The first thought I had when I opened up the new homepage this morning was, "Wow, this is a little like Microsoft." Insulting? Up to interpretation. Either way the changes made can be compared to a Nikon camera: Bigger icons, easier to see, better to use.
That's about it.
A lot of what Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayor was trying to do with the Yahoo! Homepage was killed in the news area. I do enjoy the fact I don't have to click through a lot of pages to get the news in the morning. However, the large icons are a little big aggravating. That was not called for- I can see just fine.
The benefit of the new Yahoo! homepage is on the Ipad. The homepage fits the screen very well and scrolling is epic. Bear in mind it will remind you of Google News. However, Google News is more inviting because of their font selection: It's more comfortable on the eyes. Another difference is the Yahoo! Homepage has the same size font for their news area on the IPad. It's user friendly, but not as stylish. But if you're looking for a news page to do the job, this is the one.
However, Yahoo has made a good attempt at grabbing the viewer's attention. I'm not too sure if it's the best move to make, but what's done is done. Mayor needs to revert back to Yahoo's greatest creation: Livestand. Yahoo! Livestand is where they actually "arrived" into social media. This new homepage, on the IPad, is as close to Livestand as you're going to get.
Discontinuing the app set Yahoo! back at least three years. Yahoo Into Now is more like a "dare to download" rather than a trending app. Into Now is one of those apps you've got to tell your friends to use in order to have a good time with it. It's not one of those apps you want to just download.
But that's for another review.
In the end, the new Yahoo! homepage is no more relevant than Blackberry putting out a new phone this year: It's just a few years late. We've found better versions, but it's a great homestead. If you've already made Google News your homepage, don't bother reverting back to the new Yahoo! homepage. Otherwise, enjoy this in your IPad.
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